Four ways the increasingly mobile workforce is transforming office design
As more and more office employees start working from home full-time or only come into work on certain days of the week, it no longer makes sense for employers to keep the office in the old fashion.1. So, be ready to say goodbye to the days of cubicles (隔间) and fixed desk stations and welcome the following changes in modern offices.
Including more resting spaces and leisure areas
While some people tend to work more productively in traditional desk-and-chair environment, others feel better when they’re working from a sofa or bean-bag chair. 2. These could range from joined tables for those who want to work in a more relaxed manner and socialize with co-workers, to sound-proof spaces for those who prefer to work alone or in silence.
3.
Traditional board rooms and conference rooms with tables big enough to host 20 people also fall victim to the remote workforce movement. In the new mobile climate, many employees are starting to come into the physical office merely for face-to-face meetings with co-workers or to bring in clients for presentations. This means that employees are specifically coming into the office for access to these meeting rooms, so these rooms should be sized accordingly.
Using high-tech methods that narrow the gap between office and home
4. To do this, some offices are using VoIP phones, which make phone calls through the internet rather than regular landlines, to help employees around the world appear as though they’re calling from the office.
Creating smaller carbon footprint
There are huge benefits, both financially and environmentally, to offices employing more mote workers. Fewer people in the office equal less needed space. 5. For employees, the ability to work remotely means an erased commute, which in turn will reduce air pollution and help create a smaller carbon footprint.
A. Building smaller conference rooms.
B. Providing more places for face-to-face communication.
C. In this way, employees can find the spot that best suits them on a given day.
D. Instead, offices are transforming in order to better serve employees floating in and out.
E. Huge amount of money can be saved for employers by using less energy and water, lowering their utility bills.
F. That’s why offices are creating a new mixture of furniture zones that offer both relaxing and traditional seating options.
G. With more employees working from home, it’s critical to have the proper technology to connect people together easily.
Up until a few decades ago, our expectation of the future were largely positive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of satisfaction and opportunity for all.
Now the utopia (乌托邦) has grown unfashionable, as we have gained deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from natural disasters to deadly flu to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that human beings have little future to look forward to.
But such negative attitude doesn’t make sense. The fossil record shows that many species have existed for millions of years- so why shouldn’t we? Take broader look at our species’ place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years.
So what does our deep future hold? Perhaps it may be easier to think about the question in long time periods than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today’s technology, and its social consequences, is astonishingly complicated, and it’s’ perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists (未来学家) to explore the many possibilities we can merely imagine. That’s one reason why we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future.
But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our future generations will find themselves.
This makes the negative predictions of our future seem more likely to be temporary and unreliable. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to prevent the lot of those to come.
1.What used to inspire our expectation of the future?
A.Our desire for lives of satisfaction.
B.Our faith in science and technology.
C.Our awareness of potential risks.
D.Our belief in equal opportunity.
2.Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 4?
A.Are limits the range of futurological studies.
B.Technology offers solutions to social problem.
C.The interest in science fiction is on the rise.
D.Our near future is comparatively hard to predict.
Children with attention problems in early childhood were 40% less likely to graduate from high school, says a new study from Duke University.
The study included 386 kindergarteners from schools in the Fast Track Project, a multi-site clinical trial in the U.S. that in 1991 began tracking how children developed across their lives. With this study, researchers examined early academic attention and socio-emotional skills and how each contributed to academic success into young adulthood. They found that early attention skills were the most consistent predictor of academic success, and that likability by peers (同龄人) also had a modest effect on academic performance.
By fifth grade, children with early attention difficulties had lower grades and reading achievement scores than their peers. As fifth-graders, children with early attention problems obtained average reading scores at least 3% lower and grades at least 8% lower than those of their peers. This was after controlling for IQ, socio-economic status and academic skills at school entry.
Although these may not seem like large effects, the impact of early attention problems continued throughout the children’s academic careers. Lower reading achievement scores and grades in fifth grade contributed to reduced grades in middle school, thus contributing to a 40% lower high school graduation rate.
Social acceptance by peers in early childhood also predicted grades in fifth grade. Children not as liked by their first-grade peers had slightly lower grades in fifth grade, while those with higher social acceptance had higher grades.
“This study shows the importance of so-called non-cognitive’ or soft skills in contributing to children’s positive peer relationships, which, in turn contribute to their academic success,” said Kenneth Dodge, director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.
The results highlight the need to develop effective early interventions (干预) to help those with attention problems stay on track academically and for educators to encourage positive peer relationships, the researchers said.
“We’re learning that student success requires a more comprehensive approach, one that includes not only academic skills but also social, self-regulatory and attention skills,” Dodge said. “If we ignore any of these areas, the child’s development struggles. If we attend to these areas, a child’s success may strengthen itself with positive feedback.”
1.What is the focus of the new study from Duke University?
A.The contributors to children’s early attention.
B.The predictors of children’s academic success.
C.The factors that affect children’s emotional well-being.
D.The factors that determine children’s development of social skills.
2.What do we learn from the findings of the Duke study?
A.Modest students are generally more attentive than their peers.
B.There are more children with attention difficulties than previously thought.
C.Attention problem accounts for most academic failures.
D.Children with worse attention skills are less likely to succeed academically.
3.What does the Duke study find about children better accepted by peers?
A.They do better academically. B.They are teachers’ favorites.
C.They are easy to get on with. D.They care less about grades.
4.What can we conclude from the Duke study?
A.Children’s success is related to their learning environment.
B.School curriculum should cover a greater variety of subjects.
C.Social skills are playing a key role in children’s development.
D.An all-round approach should be adopted in school education.
There it was. A test of will power. I’m on a special diet with foods carefully selected for balanced nutrition and caloric value. A piece of cheese cake is not an option. So here was my dilemma: Should I not eat the cheese cake, feel dissatisfied and take out my frustration on the annoyingly skinny physical instructor at the gym? Or should I eat the cheese cake and work off the calories?
The latter seemed like a win-win solution. Not only would I get to enjoy the cheese cake, but I’d get an exercise session. And then it hit me: a delicate plan to use my cheese cake as an exercise incentive. I plated a thin slice of cheese cake and carefully walked it up the stairs and set it on my bedside table with a small fork. I put on my exercise outfit and went downstairs.
The appeal of the cheese cake got stronger so I launched my plan: I would run up and down the stairs and then back up again. My reward: one small bite of cheese cake. If I wanted another, I’d have to run down and up and down and up again. Off I went. Ah, creamy vanilla goodness without guilt. I wanted another bite so I quickly sprinted through another stair climbing run.
Admittedly, it is harder to enjoy the creaminess of the cheese cake when my tongue was dry from over-breathing. I placed a bottle of water next to the cake.
Down and up and down and up again. When I struggled over to the cheese cake, my hand bypassed the plate and went for the water instead. I didn’t want the cake any more. I wanted all this sweat and effort to do more than cancel the calories from cheese cake. I was exhausted and sure the cheese cake tasted fine but just not good enough to make me run up and down the stairs one more time.
My plan worked. Now, any time I felt tempted to indulge in a former favorite, I remembered my stairs trick.
1.What can we infer about the author from paragraph 1?
A.She has weak will power.
B.She is bad-tempered and very critical.
C.She needs assistance with making the choice.
D.She hesitated over eating something against her diet.
2.What does the underlined word “incentive” in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Motivation. B.Excuse.
C.Substitute. D.Companion.
3.What do we learn about the author’s plan?
A.It involved much energy consumption.
B.It rid the cake of the pleasant taste.
C.It changed the author’s preference for food.
D.It was exhausting and caused suffering.
4.What may be the best title for the passage?
A.A costly dilemma.
B.An evil cheese cake.
C.A trick that worked.
D.A sweating experience.
The Grand Canyon (美国大峡谷) is an unfolding mystery. No photograph, however stunning, can do justice to the Grand Canyon. No account, however expressive, can describe it in sufficient detail. To appreciate its marvel, you must see it for yourself. To get you started on your journey, here are several things you’ll want to know before you go.
Crowds
About 6 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year. Fortunately, the park is spread over about 2,000 square miles, so there’s plenty of chance for peace and privacy. There are several ways to avoid the crowds. First, visit the park in spring, fall or winter. Second, avoid the busy South Rim in favor of the more peaceful North Rim. Remember, about 12 people die each year in the Grand Canyon. Causes of death include drowning, falling, overheating and “killfies” — selfie-related deaths.
Internet and cellphone
There is spotty internet and cellphone coverage in the North Rim and South Rim visitor centers and in some of the larger hotels, including El Tovar and Grand Canyon Lodge. But if you venture inside the canyon and wander in places such as Tuweep Campground, assume you’ll be isolated. Always inform a friend or family member about where you’re going and for how long.
Railway
Since the late 1800s, the Grand Canyon railway has carried passengers from Williams, Arizona to the South Rim’s train station. It’s a pleasant ride through Ponderosa pine forests and wide-open grasslands. You won’t see the canyon from the train.
Skywalk
In 2007 the Hualapai tribe (部落) approved the construction of Skywalk, a bridge with a glass walkway sticking out 70 feet into the canyon, at Eagle Point in Grand Canyon West. Tickets start at $69 per person, which includes shuttle bus service and access to Guano Point, Eagle Point and Hualapai Ranch viewpoints.
1.According to the passage, when is the busiest season for the Grand Canyon?
A.Spring. B.Summer.
C.Autumn. D.Winter.
2.Cellphone signals can be picked up in the following places EXCEPT ________
A.Visitor centers. B.El Tover.
C.Grand Canyon Lodge. D.Tuweep Campground.
3.How can you enjoy the view of the Grand Canyon to the fullest?
A.By visiting South Rim when it is hot and sunny.
B.By posting selfies on social media websites while visiting.
C.By taking the pleasant train ride across the canyon.
D.By walking on a glass walkway at Eagle Point.
假如你是校学生会主席李华，你校要举办一次（Hanfu）表演。请你写一封电子邮件邀请在你市做交换生的英国好友Chris观看演出。内容包括：
1．发出邀请；
2．演出时间，地点和目的；
3．建议他上网搜索，简要了解汉服。
注意：1.词数100 左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mr. Chris,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
